Consequences
by xfmoon
Summary: Set after 1x22 Beginning of the End. Fitz is in a coma, Jemma wants to save him and stuff happens.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This started out as a little idea, but it grew a little out of hand. Character dead, sorry.

 **Spoilers:** AU set after 1x22 Beginning of the End.

 **Disclaimer:** I own a lot of books, new and old, but the rights to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are not hiding among any of them.

* * *

Books, and magazines, journals and even scientific articles, that's what they brought her. And food, all kinds, even though she barely touched any of it. They were worried about her, of course, but all she was worried about was him. Days had passed and the coma still hadn't broken. She didn't know what to do. All she could do was sit there and look miserably at him while her hope slowly dwindled, diminishing more and more with each passing day. Everybody was busy, but they took time to come by and keep her company from time to time. The first few days they'd urged her to leave the room and get some rest, but that quickly stopped once they saw her determination to stay put. They had an extra bed brought in so she wouldn't have to sleep in the green, uncomfortable chair already in the room.

She didn't sleep much anyway, sitting there next to his bed, she merely dosed off once in a while. The rhythmic beat of the machines threatened to lull her away from reality and into dreamland, and whenever her overtired body screamed for sleep she would eventually give in. But her resting usually didn't last long, and wasn't very peaceful either. The nightmares lured at the entrance ready to instil their terrors in her dreams. When she woke, usually with a jerk or a jolt, she couldn't remember what had hunted her dreams, or maybe she just didn't want to. But she knew the gist of it though, the feelings still clinging to her soul for hours afterwards, even though the details eluded her. It was always the same; betrayal, discouragement, dread, fear, and death, all unequally mixed together in a witch's cauldron. It was like a tangle of serpents with multiple heads, serpents that couldn't be killed, that poked their heads out at her at impossible angles, forcing her to flee or fight an impossible battle.

Dreams were one thing she could handle not sleeping, or sleeping badly, but reality was far worse. Like Fitz, she just couldn't wake up from it.

On the seventh day she decided to read some of all the materials the others had brought in. She couldn't keep talking to a person that didn't respond, though it reportedly was said to help guide the comatose person back to their loved ones. Figuring reading something aloud would be just as good, she skipped right past the medical journals - they were too depressing - and the one book of Greek myths and mythology - had she read the word hydra she would have burst into tears or slammed her fists through the wall or something. She didn't know who would have brought it, her sleep deprived mind couldn't remember, not that it mattered anyway, they had surely meant well, in her haze she'd just accepted whatever they gave her, and added it to the pile on the table, next to her untouched food.

As she looked now at the mismatched pile of books, one particular book seemed to call out to her. It was old, a bit dusty, with strange markings on it. She opened it on a random page just to see if it was anything worth reading, and read:

"...You take the bay leaves..."

"Hmm," she said to herself "it sounds like a recipe book" and then she continued.

"...and place them near the headboard of the person's bed. Put a few drops of anis on their pillow. Carefully draw the seal of the devil on the floor beneath the bed." Then there was a picture to better illustrate the design.

She frowned. "Then again maybe not, doesn't exactly sound very edible. Sounds more like a spell book or something. What do you think?" She looked up.

No reply.

Then she turned the book around and opened it to the title page. "Let's see…, what is the title of this thing; 'Grimoire'. Hmm, I wonder who thought this would be fun to read. Should we read some more?" She asked no one in particular.

"Even if its non-science based nonsense. Maybe it could tell us how to put a spell on Ward, make him drown in his own blood."

She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Then she flipped to the index and read along as her finger slid down the list of spells and incantations.

There was a bit of everything: Attraction oil, Fast luck potions, herbal inflammatory relief dressings, seven different kinds of holy water, Damnation spells, perfume water, love tonics, different blessings, and so on and so forth.

"Should we just pick one?" She looked over at Fitz. "Or maybe we should do a little experiment." For the first time in days Simmons felt a bit lively. Experiments were always fun. And this would be harmless, what else could she do to pass the time, Fitz wasn't going anywhere and neither was she. But he was going to get a scar from the head wound he'd gotten when they fell from the plane. Too bad it wasn't in the shape of a lightning bolt, or else it could have improved his Harry Potter cosplay. She thought she'd seen something about scar removal with an herbal potion. That shouldn't be too hard to try out. Now where was it, she could have sworn she'd just seen it... ahh there it was, page 925. She flipped to the page in question and read:

To remove scars from your skin you need to mix these ingredients together.

 _The gel from one Aloe Vera leaf_

 _Lavender leaves_

 _A hint of sage and thyme_

 _3 drops of lemon juice_

Dampen the area with a moist cloth and apply the mixture.

Rub it in, use counterclockwise circles.

Cover it with the cloth and recite this incantation: Tui Gratia Jovis Gratia Sit Cura

"Doesn't sound too difficult." She got up from her chair. "Don't move, I'll be right back." She said to the still figure in the bed. Then she left in search of the ingredients.

"Simmons!" Skye was the first to notice her as she entered the kitchen.

"You're out?" Trip noted surprised.

"Is everything alright? Did something happen with Fitz?" Skye asked dread creeping into her voice.

"No, no. He's fine. I mean, nothing's changed. I just need to find some stuff." Jemma said dismissively, as she searched through cupboards and drawers.

Skye and Trip both relaxed visibly, and exchanged a look that Jemma caught but didn't comment on. She knew they were surprised she was out of the room - her own little cave of despair.

"What are you looking for? Maybe we can help you find it. Right Trip?" Skye offered.

"Sure." Trip agreed.

"Okay, well I'm only missing an Aloe Vera leaf."

"What do you need that for?" Skye inquired.

"Uhmm..." Jemma didn't know what to say, how to explain her sudden interest in this nonscientific experiment in a way that made sense to them, or her for that matter. "Just an experiment."

They didn't want to push her further, her just being outside the room was progress, and they didn't want to ruin that.

"We'll come by if we find any." Skye promised and Simmons retreated back into her cave with what she'd already found.

 **xXx**

After about an hour Trip came by with an Aloe Vera leaf. "Look what I found." He said all proud of himself.

"Thank you." Simmons said as she accepted the plant.

"You'll never guess where I found it?"

"Sorry, what?" Simmons had already started cutting it in half to extract the gel and wasn't paying Trip any attention.

"Don't you wanna know where I found it?"

"Oh yeah right, sure. Where?"

"May had it. In her room."

"Really? Why would she have that?"

Trip smiled. "I asked her the exact same question. She said something about it being some kind of Chinese medicine thing."

"Umhmm." Simmons said distractedly.

Feeling a bit left out Trip said. "Okay, well.. I'll leave you to it then." And then he left.

Jemma swiftly followed the instructions and applied the mixture to Fitz's scar; feeling a little silly as she repeated the chant. Thank goodness nobody was around to hear her, her old professors would have turned in their graves. When she was done she sat back and flipped through the book, reading a spell here and a conjuration there.

"I wonder how long it should stay on." She pondered for herself. "It didn't say anything in the recipe." She flipped back to the scar removal spell. Nope. She looked at him, peacefully unaware. At least with those ingredients it shouldn't be harmful. "I'll just let it sit for a few hours, or until it gets gross." She promised him and inhaled the scent of the concoction in the same breath. It smelled wonderful, fresh. She yawned, and set the book on the table. "I'll just close my eyes of a second." She told him and rested her head on his bed beside his hand, like so many times before.

Within seconds she was fast asleep. When she woke again it was dimming twilight outside. She looked up at Fitz, confused at first to where she was. For once her sleep had been dreamless but she wasn't rested and her mind was still in a sleep haze. When it lifted she glanced at his forehead, the cloth had sagged a bit, but the fresh fragrance still hung in the air.

"Time to take that off." She said and got up from the chair, stretching her aching back on her way to the bathroom for a fresh cloth and some water. She removed the cloth and the hex ointment with the dampened cloth. Dabbing gently until all was gone. She lifted his hair, it was getting long, he almost had bangs. Where the scar should have been she found nothing, she looked again, rubbing her eyes twice, no trace of it. It was completely gone. She ran her fingers over his skin, it was smooth, the patch much smoother where it had been covered by the ointment. Almost too smooth. On just that little area it was like he had been reborn, his skin, baby soft, not marred by age or sun. It was remarkable.

She was so baffled she didn't know what to do. The others. She had to find somebody else to see this, just to make sure she wasn't going crazy. This was an incredible discovery, one that entailed further study, but later. First she needed to find someone so they could see that this stuff really worked. Maybe there was also something in the book that could help him wake up. She ran out of the room and almost straight into Coulson.

"Hey there Jemma, slow down." He steadied her as she nearly stumbled over him and herself. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"You have to come and see. It's amazing!" Was all she said as she speeded past him to find the rest of the team. Once she'd made everyone gather in the room. She told them about the book, the spell, and what had happened. Trip and Skye - making sense of her earlier behaviour - exchanged another knowing look, and so did May and Coulson. Nobody could see the difference, the change, or maybe they just didn't want to see it, it was right there in front of their eyes, as plain as day, they just refused to acknowledge it. Instead they forced her to take a sedative and rest. She fought them, but with four against one it was a fruitless battle. As she drifted off into sleep fractions of their whispers reached her and resounded in her head. "...we shouldn't have let it..." "...who..." "...this book..." "...she's hurting..." "...go this far..." "what if..." "...separate them..." "...won't wake up..."

 **xXx**

She was surprised to learn she was still in the room with Fitz when she woke up. Going under she had feared they were going to remove her, put her in her own bunk. Someone must have protested. She got up, went over to Fitz and took his hand. "I'm sorry." She said. "I'm trying my best, but they won't believe me." Her eyes searched him, there was no sign of response, eventually they landed on his temple and the little light spot. And suddenly she was hit by a forceful batch of determination, if no one would believe, or help her, she just had to do it by herself. She found the book on the table. She had seen nothing in it about bringing a coma patient back to the land of the living, but there was one thing in there that had caught her attention on her first read through. It might be a far out option, but she had to try. Having exhausted modern medicine she was willing to give any- and everything a try. But she should probably hurry before someone found her awake and once again reading the spell book. They might take it away from her, or worse take her away from Fitz.

She quickly found what she had been looking for. The curled letters at the top of the page read: How to summon a crossroads demon. She tore the whole side out and stuffed it in her pocket, hurriedly closing the book so as not to give herself away. And just in time, because the door opened and May entered. "You're up." May noted scanning Simmons with her eyes.

"Yes." Simmons said anxiously awaiting May's analysis of the situation.

May didn't seem able to pinpoint what was obviously not as it should be. And Simmons was determent not to break even under May's scrutiny of a death stare. So May took a chair and sat down. "I'm going to stay for a while." She said though still suspicious of Jemma's behaviour.

Figures they were going to take turns babysitting her. Jemma thought, but then she reckoned it might not be as bad as it looked. If they were going to sit in here anyway, they might as well stay with Fitz while she prepared for her deal with this demon. Yes, as irrational as it may sound, that was what she was going to do. "Well that's great May, because I actually have something to do. Thank you." She said and then quickly left the room, and a confused May behind - that had just gone from babysitting two scientists where one was in a coma and the other was going off the deep end to only babysitting a comatose patient – which didn't really make much sense. May that had stood up when Simmons left - but not soon enough to stop the girl - sat down again with a sigh. She looked at the man in the bed and said: "You need to wake up Fitz. Simmons needs you." Then she grabbed a magazine and flipped through the pages of trash talk and gossip about the rich and famous.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time Jemma checked in on Fitz, May had been replaced by Coulson. "Sir." Jemma greeted him as she entered. He looked up from the report he was reading.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes, I just wanted to check in on Fitz."

Coulson nodded and they both looked over at the man in the bed. Nothing had changed since the morning except for maybe a fresh set of linen. "Okay well, I'm gonna go again then." She said and hesitated for an instant.

"Are you sure you're alright, Jemma?" Coulson looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"Everything is fine, Sir. I promise." She said reassuringly. And then she left.

They had been concerned when she didn't leave the room and now they were concerned because she didn't spend any time in there. They were very hard to satisfy. But soon there wasn't going to be any reason for any of them to be in that room anymore. She was going to make sure of that. She had gathered all the parts she needed to summon the demon. Now she just needed to do the summoning.

She had packed everything neatly in a backpack, and now she wondered off base. They were placed in such a secret location that there really wasn't much around for miles, so she didn't have to borrow a car or even go very far to find an unpaved crossroads where she would be able to bury the box with its contents, and summon her fate.

 **xXx**

As equally as possible she determined where the middle of the crossroads was. Then she dug a small hole and placed the old tin box, which she had found in the back of one of the kitchen cabinets, down into it. In the box she had put a picture of herself, graveyard dirt, - from the graveyard she'd passed on her way there - a black cat bone, which had been particularly hard to find, thank goodness for Shield's unlimited resources, and the nearby pet hospital, which just happened to have had gotten a dead black cat turned in recently. On top of that lay some yarrow plants, they had been the easiest to find, they grew so nicely at the sides of the road. She gave the little box one last look, closed it and filled the hole up with the earth she had removed, patting the spot gingerly before she rose from the ground. She brushed her hands against her pant legs to get as much dirt as possible off of them. Then she took the page out from her pocket and read the Latin summoning spell.

When she was done she looked around.., waiting patiently.., nothing happened. "This is ridiculous." She told herself. She didn't know what she had been expecting. She shook her head. "Maybe I _am_ going crazy." She gathered her things; taking deep breaths as she grabbed each item putting them back into her getup. Her eyes filled with water threatening to spill over. This had been her last chance. Her science exhausted she'd turned to witchcraft as an option, well why not, it could have worked, they dealt with the supernatural and fantastic each and every day, why couldn't it work for her when she so desperately needed it to? She got up closed her eyes for a second and let the drops make their escape down her cheeks.

"Great another one of those." A soft-spoken voice said, cutting into her revere.

Simmons opened her eyes and turned around, to meet the person the voice was originating from, she wiped her tears as she did so. "Who are you?" She asked.

"You summoned me? Duh!" Not exactly the words you'd expect to come out of the mouth of a demon.

"You're the..." She hesitated while she looked the person standing in front of her up and down. It was a beautiful woman, tall, thin, and with thick, charcoal coloured, wavy hair, "...the...the..." She continued, stuttering.

"Yes, I'm the crossroads demon." The woman said while she rolled her eyes, as if she'd had this particular conversation a thousand times before and it bored her so much that she really couldn't be bothered anymore.

"But you look so... so normal." Jemma said.

"Come closer." The demon urged. Jemma took a few steps forward hesitantly then stopped. "A little bit more." She said alluringly. Jemma took one step more. The demon sighed; apparently this went too slowly for her sentiment, so she closed the gap between them and came to stand face to face with Jemma. As Jemma looked her straight in the eyes the demon did something unexpected; she blinked, and as she did so her eyes turned blood red. Frightened Jemma stepped back. The woman blinked again and her eyes turned into the normal brown human orbs they'd been just a second ago.

"Believe me now?" She said without further enthusiasm.

Jemma nodded.

"Good. Then let's get down to business shall we." She looked at Jemma like she was just an annoying bug buzzing around in her atmosphere that she'd rather squeeze between her well-manicured nails, than do actual business with. "I assume you've never done this before."

Jemma nodded again. "That's right." She wasn't going to ask how the demon knew, she was sure her entire aura radiated her newbie status in the witchcraft field.

"First things first. What can I do for you?" She looked at her with an intense gaze.

"I have this friend.."Jemma started.

"Ok, great..," She said with an exasperated sigh. "How much do you want him to fall in love with you? Like are we talking the head over heels, jumping off a cliff kind, or the cute and sweet kitty cuddling kind and then you'll take it from there yourself?"

Jemma flushed bright red. "Ehm.. No! It's nothing like that." She said a little too quick.

"I see. So he wronged you somehow and now you want to cause him pain or kill him in the most painful way imaginable, is that it? I suggest we start with gouging out the eyeballs, then maybe some bamboo sticks under the fingernails and …" She sounded all chipper all of a sudden.

"No, no. Stop!" The horror had painted Simmons face a pale shade of white. "He's sick. In a coma. I just want him to wake up and be okay. I just want my friend back."

"Is that all?" She sounded a bit insulted that her powers were to be used on such trivialities.

"Yes, that's all."

"Are you sure you don't want to throw in some light torture of an enemy while we're at it. A pretty girl like you is sure to have accumulated an enemy or two over the years."

For a second there Simmons thoughts strayed to Ward. She wanted nothing more than for him to suffer for what he'd done. But no, she wasn't going to go down that dark path, that would make her no better than him. No, she wanted to focus on the future. On Fitz being alive and healthy. She wanted life not death. "No, thank you." She said as an answer.

The female demon smiled knowingly having undoubtedly intercepted the hints of darkness hiding in her mind. "Just as long as you're sure. I wouldn't want to be accused of making bad deals."

"If he's okay, I won't complain. I just need him to be alive and well."

"Okay, we can move on then. Do you know how this works?

"I do. I read it in here." She showed her the torn page. "You get my soul. I get ten years before you come back for me."

"Right. Do you understand these conditions and agree to them?" She sounded like the terms of conditions in a contract for a new piece of equipment.

She took a deep breath. Was this a wise decision? Then she thought about Fitz. And all her remaining doubts evaporated. "I do." She said.

Next thing she knew, the demon was kissing her, and it wasn't just a small peck on the libs, it was quite passionately. But as quick as she had begun as quick was it over. "We have a deal." The demon said. "You better hurry up, and go on home, if you wanna be there when he wakes up." She looked at her watch. "He'll be waking up any minute now."

Jemma gathered her stuff.

"See you in ten years." The demon said, but when Jemma looked up again she was gone. This better not be a dream, she thought to herself, and trotted at a quick pace until her nerves got the better of her and her jog turned into running until she reached the base. Breathlessly she reached his room. Skye was the one on guard duty, she however had fallen asleep on Jemma's bed and didn't notice Jemma enter the room. There were two trays on the table, one for her and one for Skye, one was still untouched. She hadn't realized it was this late. They must have wondered where she had disappeared to, and what she was up to. She comforted herself with the fact that they at least hadn't sent a tactical team out after her.

She took of her jacket, sat her backpack on the floor, and took Fitz's hand. It was still limp and lifeless. She brushed a few strands of his hair away from his forehead and whispered: "It's gonna be all right now. Everything is gonna be fine. I fixed it." She kissed his brow then sat down in the green chair and fell asleep.

 **xXx**

Minutes later she woke. What was that awful beeping sound? Tiredly she looked around; the sound had stirred Skye as well. When her mind cleared enough to make her realize where she was she panicked. What _was_ that beeping sound? What was happening? Was Fitz okay? Skye had the same reaction as Jemma as soon as her thoughts had returned from her much deeper slumber and were with her again. But Skye's panic sprang from watching Simmons panic. If she - cool and calm headed Jemma Simmons - was panicking then there had to be a good reason.

It only got worse when a whole team of nurses rushed in starting pulling out tubes and curtains, and making them wait in the no peeking zone. Jemma remembering what she'd just done got scared. Skye, without knowing her secret agenda, tried her best to reassure her that everything was going to be fine. All Jemma could think was something could have gone wrong, there was a reason you didn't make deals with the devil - the least if you were a nice girl, from a good Christian home, that had devoted her life to science. How did she get here? Desperate times…

Luckily her desperate measures had been fruitful. When they were allowed in there again, he was miraculously breathing on his own, and it didn't last long before he also began to wake up. Simmons shone, she basically radiated relief. And Skye practically jumped of joy, proclaiming she was going to wake up the whole base so they could hear the good news and then she was off, leaving Jemma to be the sole person there when Fitz once again entered the land of the living.

 **xXx**

He opened his eyes and closed them again, blinked against the bright fluorescent light. His lids were heavy but he knew he had to open them. This was important, he just had to shake this hazy feeling, he could do it though, he knew that, he just needed a little time. When he finally felt clearheaded enough the sight that met him was the most beautiful sight imaginable. Jemma. Her worried eyes searched his. And he couldn't help but smile up at her. And as soon as he did it was as if the dark clouds disappeared and her whole face lit up like the sun. "Jemma" He croaked, his throat dry.

"Hey Fitz." She said, tears in her eyes and a relieved smile plastered on her face.

They didn't say much else to each other for a while. And soon their opportunity was lost, the room was filled with old teammates and new ones, and everyone was happy and smiling and saying hi and welcome back, and how are you, and Fitz got even more tired than he'd been. That was pretty much what he remembered from that day.

But that didn't matter much, because things quickly changed after that, the past was in the past, and every day since the day he woke up from that coma was spend with Jemma. Everyone was amazed by his fast and uncomplicated recovery. Even himself, but he didn't question it, the main thing was that they were both alive and healthy and far away from the grasp of Hydra. The job was dangerous, and if they wanted to stay alive they realized what they had to do. Together they made the decision. They soon left Shield. And from there on out things went fast, they dated, got married, and soon became parents to two adorable kids. Life was as it should be.


	3. Chapter 3

Right until one day when Jemma with a serious look from across the breakfast table declared that they needed to talk. After the kids had been shipped off to school and kindergarten respectively they sat down to talk. All morning Fitz had - while dressing kids, making lunches, driving and dropping them off - spun around what Jemma so urgently wanted to talk about with dread in his mind. She wasn't pregnant again, that she'd have blurted out as soon as she knew and in a much less terrifying way than _'we need to talk'_. She wasn't going to leave him for another, that wasn't like her, and she couldn't be in love with someone else either, that didn't seem probable. Did someone die? He hoped not, they'd been to enough funerals already. Was she quitting her job? No she couldn't be, she loved going to work every day. Was she sick? She had been looking a bit pale lately. What was he going to do if she was dying? What about their kids? His head was spinning and he had to mentally stop before he dug himself into a hole of depression for no reason.

"I..." She started. "I don't know how to tell you this."

"You know you can tell me anything, right. Just tell me." He placed his hands on top of her nervous fidgeting ones on the table.

She broke one arm free and looked at her watch like she was late for an appointment. "I knew this day would come, I just kinda hoped..." She paused. "I wanted..." Another hesitation. "I never..." She sighed, gave up on the sentence and moved on. "I don't have much time left. I need you to know this before..., I owe you that much."

"What are you talking about? What's going to happen?"

She took both of her hands now and placed them in her lap. Looking down as if in shame when she began her tale. "Almost ten years ago I made a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"A deal for your life." She looked up and met his eyes.

"Come again." With his brows furrowed he looked more than a little mystified.

"You were sick. I made a deal to bring you back."

"How does that even work? You paid some doctors under the table or got hold of some illegal drugs, or what are we talking about here?"

"Witchcraft."

He did a double take. "Did you just say witchcraft?"

Her voice was nothing more than a whisper: "Yes". She turned her gaze down to her hands again; apparently her fingers were of enormous interest.

He thought she was joking, but when she kept looking down he said: "You're serious?!"

"You were in a coma, and there were this book and I tried to s..." The rest of her speech became slurred due to the sobs that had overtaken her body.

He got up, went around the table, sat down in front of her, and took her in his arms. None of them said anything. Instead he rubbed soothing circles on her back until she calmed down.

Witchcraft was as far from science as you could get. But whatever had happened, Jemma seemed to believe it had worked somehow, and having encountered a lot of strange stuff in their line of work, he thought he would at least hear her out, get the lay of the land so to speak, before judging her, and then see what could be done about it. "What did you do Jemma?" He asked her once she was coherent again.

"I made a deal with a crossroads demon. I gave her my soul in exchange for your life, so you could live."

"Why, why would you do that?"

"I couldn't lose you." He knew what she was feeling, he felt the exact same way right now.

"So what's going to happen now?"

"Tomorrow it's been 10 years since I made the deal. Hellhounds will come and claim me by sundown. Drag me to hell or something; I'm not sure exactly how it works."

"No, no, no. That can't happen. What about us? The children? We can't live without you. There has to be something we can do."

She kissed him. "There's nothing. After Marie was born I can't tell you how much literature on the subject I read, how badly I wanted to stay and watch her and now also Jonas grow up. But I couldn't find anything anywhere. You'll get through this, I know you will. You just have to be brave for the kids, and you all have each other to lean on."

It was Fitz's turn to cry. "You can't leave me, Jemma. Not now." He snuffled. "Show me how to make a deal, and I'll make one for your life. You get to stay and we'll have ten more years together. Before they come for the both of us."

"I don't think that's how it works. And I won't let you do that, think about the kids. They'll have no one."

"But this is fine?" He sounded angry now. "You disappearing. Being tortured in Hell forever. No, I don't accept that. There has to be some way for us to fix this."

"Fitz, this is our last days together, let's not spend them fighting."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I tried. I tried many times. Even before the kids, but when they came along you just seemed so happy. I couldn't do it."

"I cannot believe this." He moved a bit away from her, already distancing himself from the pain of the upcoming loss.

"Fitz, I'm so sorry." She said and meant it. "But if I had to, I'd do it all over again. It has been worth every second."

He looked at her and the stony features set in his face loosened up.

"I can't do this alone, Jemma. You're my rock. What am I gonna tell the kids, they're too small, they won't understand."

"Just tell them, that no matter what, no matter where I am I'll always love them."

"We should go pick them up early, spend the whole day with them tomorrow."

"That's a great idea. As long as they're not there when it happens. I don't want them to see that."

"No of course not, we'll drop them off at Skye's. They love her. We'll spend the evening alone. I want to be there when it happens."

"Are you sure? I've read it can be very gruesome."

"I'm sure. I wouldn't want to be deprived of any moment I have left with you. I love you."

"I love you too."

They both felt this was beginning to turn into soppy goodbyes, and neither of them wanted that. And that's when Fitz had an idea. "What about Coulson?"

"What about him?"

"Have you asked him if he have a solution to this?"

"No. I don't think..."

"He's the director of Shield, he knows about this stuff, all the supernatural secrets they keep from the public, he has to know something, and he has connections, plus he would never turn us away. We have to ask."

"Sure if you think there's a chance."

"I do, I think it's worth a shot. You pick up the kids and I'll call him, how's that."

"Deal." She kissed him. "See you soon."

 **xXx**

"Change of plans, honey. We're going on a little road trip." That was the first thing Fitz said when Jemma and the kids came back.

"Where are we going, daddy?" Marie inquired.

"Out on the open road. We'll show you the grandeur of America. Now go pack some toys." That was all he could come up with as a cover, and he used to be a spy, this was pitiful.

"Yay!" Two pairs of tiny lungs yelled on their way up the stars. Too small and too innocent to really understand the gravity of the situation.

"Only a few things." Jemma yelled after them not expecting them to listen. "What did Coulson say?" She asked her husband.

"First he told me to tell you, that what you did was very reckless." She looked down in shame again. "And he said we should have told him before, a statement which I can only agree with." He said to twist the knife of shame a little deeper, before he reached out and lifted her head up with his fingers so their faces met. "Also the most important part, he knows two people, two hunters Sam and Dean, they know about this stuff, how to fix it. They're supposed to be the best there are. And they're in the neighbourhood."

"That's great." Jemma allowed herself to feel a bit optimistic.

"We just have to drive a bit, if we want to make it before..." He trailed off. "...before the deadline."

"Let's go then. I'll get the kids, everything else we'll get on the road."

"Good, I'll lock up and start the car."

 **xXx**

They drove for hours, but it seemed more like days. The kids pretty much entertained themselves having never been on a long distance road trip before they found excitement in everything, the changes of the landscape, the ebb and flow of cars, and buildings, and the toys they brought, they were resourceful like that. Which was good because then there were one less thing to worry about. They also had no problem sleeping in the car. And after a day with so many new adventures they were out early, fast asleep curled up against the seats and each other on the backseat.

They drove through the night, taking turns, stopping only for gas and at a drive through for breakfast for the children; they had themselves lost their appetite. Driving to meet ones potential doom didn't really do much for one's digestive system.

Somewhere in a small town called Lucasville they met up with Sam and Dean Winchester. Two brothers that seemed to know an awful lot about the situation they found themselves in. And they also had an awesome car, a black 1967 Chevy Impala, which Fitz would have been drooling over any other day, but not today.

After exchanging pleasantries they went to work. Fitz had to stay with the kids. Sam and Dean were going to take Jemma somewhere else in case things went south and they had to improvise - having kids around complicated matters. So they had to say their farewells on a dessert highway in the middle of nowhere, it wasn't exactly how any of them had imagined the end. The children didn't understand why the adults were so sad saying goodbye, they hadn't yet experienced lose, and figured they would all see each other again eventually, parents always came back.

 **xXx**

It was with a heavy heart Jemma watched her family shrink and blur into the horizon as she drove away, sitting on the backseat of the Winchester's impala.

They came to a little deserted house, if you could call it a house, a wooden shed was more accurate, but it was far from everything which was the whole point. This was where they were going to set up camp and face the demon and her hellhounds.

The massive wooden clock on the wall was with its constant ticking a reminder of how her time was running out. They had placed her in a somewhat uncomfortable chair - in the middle of the main room in the little shack - inside a circle of salt. She didn't know how, but it was supposed to protect her. Sam and Dean was ready with more salt, holy water, guns and iron fire pokers plus they had painted a variety of occult symbols on the walls. Apparently there were a few things demons didn't like. Hellhounds on the other hand were a whole other deal. But neither demon nor hellhound took kindly to people breaking their contracts.

When the clock struck midnight her time was up. And as if on cue a cold wind rushed into the room chilling Jemma to the bone. Not long after that the crossroads demon she had made the deal with 10 years prior entered, not looking a day older, making Jemma feel old.

"Jemma Simmons, you disappoint me." She said. "I thought you were one of the people that honoured an agreement. Did you really think that running away would help? That it would matter where you are. Where ever you're hiding in this world, we'll find you, right boys." The demon looked down at her feet; there was nothing there, but an eerie sound. It was a growling unlike anything Jemma had ever heard before, certainly not something that could have come from a household dog; then again she didn't know many normal dogs that were invisible.

"And you brought company I see." The demon regarded the others. "The Winchesters. So nice to finally meet you."

"Shot up, bitch." It was Dean that spoke up. "You better take your beasts and turn around."

She laughed. "Or else? You and your little sidekick are gonna do what?"

"We're gonna kick your demon ass."

Again she laughed. "If that is what you want, knock yourself out." She bend down clapped the empty air, where the invisible dogs' heads supposedly were. "Good boys. Bring me back the girl. And you look starved; you can snack on the boys too." And with that she made a hand movement releasing them from their invisible chains, while she calmly walked away, back out and into the night. Suddenly everything was chaos, there were an unheard of commotion of barking and fighting, shouts and cries, as the dogs attacked Sam and Dean. Jemma had gotten strict orders not to move outside the circle of salt, but Sam and Dean were under attack, there was blood everywhere and the air smelled like iron. While Dean had the upper hand on one dog Sam was struggling having lost his gun and all his secondary weapons as well, and he was just within arm's reach of her, so she did what her conscience told her to. She went out of the circle to help him.

She grabbed the iron fire poker and pounded it forcefully down on the invisible, frothing dog on top of Sam, winching as she connected with flesh, afraid she had hit him in the process. She hadn't, but this was a fight where her senses betrayed her, sometimes she thought she saw the ferocious animal but then it disappeared again and she questioned her own eyes. "Jemma, No!" She heard Dean scream from across the room. "Get back in the circle!" Sam regained his footing, but so did the dog, which had only just temporarily been knocked out. Attuned to her scent now it was about to attack, but Sam pushed her back. She landed on her hands and knees next to the old chair, but the salt line was long since broken and could no longer protect her.

She got up, looked around to find something to arm herself with, having dropped the fire poker as soon as she hit the dog with it. She didn't get far though before a third and so far unseen hellhound jumped her. She screamed and she fought, and Sam and Dean did their best to fight off their attackers and come help her. But too late. When their two dogs were down and defeated the last dog had also disappeared, along with Jemma's soul. There was nothing more they could do but bring her body back to her family, telling them how sorry they were and how brave she had been.

 **xXx**

Leo Fitz did his best to bring up his and Jemma's kids, so that they weren't in doubt for even one minute of their mother's love for them. With each day that went by he could see more and more of her in them. Her love, intelligence, and kindness, and willingness to sacrifice themselves for the right cause and the greater good. But he made sure that they also knew that all their actions had consequences and impacts on not only their life but on the lives of those around them. And that they always made sure to consider all their options before jumping in. They were allowed to be spontaneous, as long as they knew that it came with a price.

Life was a precious gift, more fantastic than any supernatural being, and having someone to trust and rely on was important; that, and love in any kind or form was what made the world go round. Jemma had sacrificed herself for him, and for their family. None of them would be here if she hadn't done something back then. And he was grateful, he truly were, though he often wished their life had turned out differently. It was unfair; he got to grow old, watch their kids grow up and she didn't. He missed her each and every day, but life went on, it didn't stop for nobody, and the best thing you could do was to try to keep up, live, and make peace with the consequences of yours and everybody else's actions.

* * *

 **A/N:** FYI I know nothing about spells and stuff, other than what I've seen on TV and a quick and dirty search on the web. So don't try this at home folks ;) You might summon up something you shouldn't have, and can't handle. Consider yourself warned!

I came up with this idea while thinking about FitzSimmons and wearing my Samulet. Dangerous mix right there. Also I don't own anything recognizable from Supernatural.

Sorry but I can't make myself call Fitz either Leo or Leopold even after they're married and have kids, it's too weird. And don't ask me where the children's names came from; they were just the only ones that popped into my head.

Was the: _'You're my rock'_ too mean? Because technically if they left before season 2 started, she wouldn't have been in that damn Kree monolith thing at all, so no pun intended by Fitz, only by me ;)

Lastly I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, I brought in Sam and Dean to save Jemma, it just wasn't in the cards I guess. I really wanted her to survive. Sorry!

Also the ending sucked, I know - more than the rest of it, 'cause it's all pretty sucky - but that's nothing new. So if you got this far I'm impressed, and thank you for sticking it out :) virtual S.H.I.E.L.D. pancakes are coming your way!

Hiatus is almost over now, so that's something to look forward to, yay!


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